The Next Encounter

THE NEXT ENCOUNTER

I got a call from a former member who met a young man and as the conversation turned spiritual, the young man mentioned his connection with Cornerstone, unaware the other guy also had a history with Cornerstone. They planned on getting together again and so he called me to get some insight on how to better minister to him since I already knew the guy. That made me think of how God has a marvelous way of putting people in our paths.

There are times we meet someone and go on to have a long lasting relationship with them. Then we have the people we connect with and minister to, then at some point they move on. We can get discouraged over that.

We spent all this time with them and it seemed everything was going well but now they're gone and we don't know if we will ever see them again. We may conclude that all our effort was for naught. What we need to consider is perhaps God put them in our path only for a season and now it was someone else's turn.

Perhaps we've done all we needed to do and God was going to put this person in someone else's path so they could pick up where we left off. It's likely that the ones who come into our lives that do stick around have been ministered to by someone before they came into our life. It shows how much God doesn't give up on people.

If one of his servants did their part but it didn't produce the results God was hoping for he sends another one to make another attempt. God never gives up on us. And it's usually not the first encounter that produces the desired result but it could be the next. Let's see what the bible has to say about the next encounter.

1) The next encounter.

Acts 18:24-28, "Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.

He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ."

Apollos was an educated man. Although he had a thorough knowledge of the scriptures, there were some things he didn't know. Though he taught about Jesus accurately, Priscilla and Aquila needed to teach him about baptism in the name of Jesus. And we know by the verses that follow that Apollos was humble and teachable.

God knew who to send Apollos to. Priscilla and Aquila had a thorough understanding also. In Rom. 16, Paul mentioned they were his fellow workers in Christ and that they even risked their lives for Paul. Acts 18 states they were tentmakers and Paul met them in Corinth. He stayed with them and learned the trade of tent making.

When Paul left Corinth to sail for Syria, Priscilla and Aquila went with him. When they got to Ephesus, Paul went on but Priscilla and Aquila stayed. Soon after they met Apollos. After listening to him, it became clear to Priscilla and Aquila that he didn't know about baptism in the name of Jesus.

So they invited them to their home to be able to spend time with him and teach him more sufficiently. What Apollos gained by his time spent with them was priceless since we see that he went on to be a valuable asset to Paul and the church.

It's obvious that Apollos had previous encounters as it says he had been instructed in the way of the Lord. But he needed his next encounter with Priscilla and Aquila to gain what he was lacking so he could be a better agent of Christ.

Who have been the next encounter people God has placed in your life that helped you learned the way of Christ more adequately? We need to make sure we show appreciation for those who've been influential in teaching us the truth.

Not that this takes away from the first encounter people in our lives. I'm sure Priscilla and Aquila were very thankful for those who ministered to Apollos before they met him. We need to be thankful for the ones who had previous encounters with people before we were given the opportunity to be their next encounter.